HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 Japan Take Gripping Final in Montevideo
Montevideo, Uruguay
15-16 February 2020
The second leg of the inaugural HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 was held at the Estadio Charrua in Montevideo in Uruguay from 22-13 February 2020. The competition aims to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe.
The sixteen teams that competed at Montevideo were: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.
At Montevideo, Japan were in Pool C along with Italy, Zimbabwe and Paraguay.
In their pool games, Japan beat Paraguay 71-5 in their opening game, beat Italy 26-12 and then beat Zimbabwe 26-12 to top their pool with nine points from three straight wins.
In the quarterfinals on Sunday, Japan beat Jamaica 32-0. Later, in the semi-finals, Japan beat Chile 31-10 to progress to the final. In the decider, the Japanese side beat Uruguay 5-0 in a gripping finale to take the title. Captain Chihito Matsui was the hero after he scored the winning try in the second half of sudden-death extra-time.
After the two legs, Japan headed the standings with 39 points. Two points behind, Hong Kong finished in second place with Germany claiming third place.
The third and final leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 was to be held in Hong Kong in April. However, that is now on hold given the Novel Coronavirus situation.
Pools
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
| Germany | Hong Kong | Japan | Tonga |
| Uruguay | Jamaica | Italy | Chile |
| Mexico | Uganda | Zimbabwe | Portugal |
| PNG | Brazil | Paraguay | Colombia |
Pool C Games for Japan
Saturday, 22 February 2020
Match No.4: Japan 71 d Paraguay 5
Match No.12: Japan 26 d Italy 12
Match No.20: Japan 26 d Zimbabwe 12
Knock-out Stage Results for Japan
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Quarterfinals
Japan 32 d Jamaica 0
Semi-finals
Japan 31 d Chile 10
Final
Japan 5 d Uruguay 0